Just A Kiss Lukanette
by Shippingest.345bc
Summary: Marinette has been devoted to loving Adrien for years, but when she meets Luka she starts to doubt her unrequited love. As the manager of Kitty Section, Marinette is spending more time on the Liberty and more time around Luka. She decides that it's about time she stops chasing Adrien and have a real relationship with Luka.
1. Captain Hardrock

The day of the music festival, Marinette left with Alya to go to the _Liberty_ the Couffaines' residence to see Rose's band perform. "You ready for a busy day, girl?" Alya asked as she linked arms with Marinette.

"Am I ever!" She smiled.

The ship was docked and Marinette could see everyone above deck preparing for the concert...everyone except Adrien. She didn't have time for worrying as she helped set up the ship, but as time went on, it became more likely he wasn't going to show up.

She walked over to Alya with a box of books in her arms, "he's not here yet!"

Alya reassured her, "no worries, girl! The gig hasn't started yet." Marinette stressed out, babbling mostly for herself as a way to release tension. Alya shouted up to her boyfriend on the ladder, "Hey, Nino, did you hear from Adrien, by any chance?"

"He had something to do with his old man. He said he'll come right after."

Her best friend nudged her and winked, Marinette let out a breath of relief. Captain Anarka discarded Marinette's cleaning, "out of chaos comes creation! Messiness is life!" Marinette liked the eccentric captain and her creative spirit.

Preparation resumed and Marinette was in the cabin with Alya and Nino, unpacking a box. Nino got a call from Adrien and unsurprisingly, but still disappointing, Adrien wouldn't be able to attend the concert and Marinette's spirits drastically fell. Marinette was wallowing in her self-pity of her failed love, Captain Anarka listened to her dramatics with Alya.

Rose appeared at the foot of the stairs with Juleka, "we're ready, Captain! Uh..but Luka's missing."

The captain turned to Marinette asking her to go below deck to get her son, Luka. Marinette didn't even know she had a son. Marinette nodded and went down the stairs until she was in the living space of the ship and walking through the cluttered area towards Rose's space when she saw a person sitting silently on the bed, surprising her.

He was handsome. Black hair with teal tips fell over his brows, olive skin, painted nails. A guitar rested next to him on the bed and there was a pick in his hand. His eyes opened and met Marinette's, she panicked, "Hey! My name's Mama..uh...Mamamarinette!" _Oh no!_ She thought to herself in mortification. "Your mom sent me down here. The groove...uh...the group's waiting for you." _Way to go, Mari!_

Luka replied with a smooth voice, "Hello, Mamamarinette." It was followed by a giggle and it only made her feel worse about herself, he noticed this and immediately look apologetic, "sorry. I tend to make more sense with this."

Pulling the guitar into his lap and strumming it, Luka patted the bed and Marinette took a seat before she realised what she was doing. "That's strange. It seems like you have something like this in your heart." He played a melancholy tune and Marinette could feel the music resound in her.

It was amazing how he could do that, they exchanged a few more words before Marinette stood up and looked at his wall, taking a pick into her hands, "you like Jagged Stone's music?"

He stood up with her, "he's my favourite singer."

She looked up at him with a smile, "me too."

Luka looked at the pick in her hands, "you can keep it if you like. I've got plenty." She thanked him and he smiled, "I think I better go and join the...groove, you said?"

A fresh wave of embarrassment washed over her, "Did I really say that? Oh, no!"

His hand gripped the strap of his guitar, "you're a funny girl, Marinette." He turned and left with a light smile on his lips and Marinette looked at his back then to the pick in her hands before putting it in her purse and chasing after him to get back above deck.

She took a seat on a box next to Alya and looked at Luka as he tuned his guitar, he looked over at her with a smile and she returned it, Alya picked up on something, "looks like Marinette the compass has found herself a new statue."

What was she talking about? Luka was Luka, he didn't hold a candle to Adrien who was perfect in every way. "What? Luka? No way! You're being ridiculous! Pff! Sure he's cool and nice and everything, but there's only one statue that drives this compass crazy."

And then things spiralled downwards, Officer Roger showed up after Luka's blast of music and before anyone knew it, Captain Anarka had become Captain Hardrock. Sure, the music was loud, but Roger was being ridiculous with his tickets and it just made more work for Marinette or "Ladybug".

Everyone was chained up below deck, Tikki flew undid the lock and Luka looked at Marinette in awe, "Wow! How did you do that?"

Thinking quickly, "Uh...I...Uh...With this!" She held up the pick he had given her and his awe grew.

"You're amazing! A real magician, Marinette!" He stood up and offered her a hand. Marinette accepted the tough hand that pulled her to her feet, her hand going to his arm to steady herself on the moving ship.

"You think so? Oh, it was nothing. Amazing, really?" Marinette looked off to the side shyly before meeting his aqua blue eyes.

Alya's voice interrupted their moment, "excuse me, but some of us are still chained up here."

Heavy footsteps thudded on the stairs and Luka and Marinette rushed to his room and he pulled out a drawer from under his bed, "hide!" He said frantically and pushed her back in the dark, cramped space. She heard him yell, "Run, Marinette! Quickly!"

Captain Hardrock captured him and the room went quiet again and she was safe to come out, "Tikki, spots on!" After her transformation into Ladybug was complete, Marinette rushed out the window to save Chat Noir from the chains that had wrapped him up.

Fighting off chains while trying to think of a plan to stop the Captain was difficult enough, then the cops appeared and required saving. Marinette appreciated the fact that they wanted to help but more often than not, law enforcement got in the way. After all, there was no way civilians could defeat a supervillain.

While Chat kept the Captain busy, Ladybug rushed into the hold to free her friends. She walked over to Luka to help him up just as he had done for her and his hand went on top of her's, his eyebrows were knitted together, "Ladybug, is Marinette okay?" Ladybug confirmed it and Luka looked to the side fondly, "that girl's unbelievably brave."

Ladybug couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up under her mask at the compliment for her clumsy, awkward, Marinette-self. Tossing up her yo-yo, "Lucky Charm!" What landed in her hands was another set of chains.

She ran back above deck and looked around for Chat and the Captain, seeing his predicament, Ladybug pulled Captain Hardrock from the mast. Thankfully, Officer Roger came in handy as a distraction to get away from Captain Harrock to try and think up a plan with the polka dot chain.

"We've got a problem! I couldn't free the prisoners and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with this!"

"It's probably trying to tell you that you're chained to me forever."

Ladybug made a face, Chat's flirting wasn't exactly helpful at the moment. She looked from behind their hiding spot and it all clicked. The pedestal of the ship's wheel, the incline to the land was like a ramp from the Seine. Everything fell into place, with Captain Hardrock chained to the wheel, the metal messing with the compass, the boat went up the incline and skidded to a stop on land.

"Cataclysm!" Chat called and his power eroded the whole ship until a black butterfly flew from the compass needle. Marinette caught the Akuma and purified it, "bye-bye, little butterfly."

Once everything was back to normal, Marinette stood on the deck of the _Liberty_, exhausted but looking forward to the concert. The instruments were checked and Adrien arrived, tripping over a keyboard to be helped up by Luka. Two hot guys on one ship.

Alya leant over and whispered, "is the compass going crazy?"

That night, Marinette went home, her energy completely spent. She showered and flopped onto her bed in her pyjamas as Tikki ate some cookies, "we had a busy day."

Sighing, "we really did. Hopefully, Hawkmoth doesn't akumatise someone else for a while. Sometimes I want to be a normal teenager."

"That Luka seemed to be quite smitten with you," Tikki giggled as she fluttered around.

Marinette flushed, "no way! He barely knows me."

"Well, you two will probably be spending more time together. Y'know, since he's Juleka's brother and you're the designer for Kitty Section's costumes." Tikki smiled, sitting on Marinette's pillow, inches from her face.

"So what? He's no Adrien."

Tikkie rolled her little eyes, "why should he be? He's Luka."

"Yeah, I hope we'll be good friends." Marinette rolled over, "good night, Tikki."

"Night, Marinette."


	2. School

Marinette woke up early for school the next day, humming a tune as she got ready for the day. Pulling on her Jagged Stone T-shirt and capris while putting her hair into her typical pigtails. Tikki continued to sleep in her bag as she went downstairs, kissing her parents on the cheek and taking a box of croissants before leaving to meet up with her friends.

They all sat out in the courtyard on a bench, "Hey, girl!" Alya called from Nino's side as he chatted with Adrien. Marinette smiled and waved, bringing up the box of food to hand out, "Juleka said Luka is going to start classes here, neat, huh?"

Marinette's eyes drifted to Adrien before darting back to Alya, "I thought he was older?"

"Uh-huh, he's going to be our upperclassman. He's seventeen," Alya supplied. Two years older than most of her friends. "There they are now!"

Marinette turned and saw Rose, Juleka, and Luka walking towards them. He was tall, taller than Adrien, holding his guitar case that was plastered with stickers.

He stopped in front of Marinette, a soft smile on his lips, "good morning, Mamamarinette." Her cheeks lit up and she looked down and felt a hand pat her head, "I'm just playing. Wicked shirt, by the way."

She looked up at him and smiled, "do you want a croissant? They're from my parents' bakery."

"Yeah, thanks." They stood side-by-side as everyone talked. Alya was discussing the Ladyblog, the most recent save from Ladybug and Chat Noir. "Does anyone know where 's classroom is?"

"Marinette can show you!" Alya supplied helpfully with a wink.

"I...Um...Yeah, this way," Marinette began walking with him. "So...Uh...Where are you from?" _Real smooth, Marinette._

He switched hands to carry his guitar case, "I was living with my father in Scotland. Only the last couple of years though, I wanted to come back to be with my mom and Jules."

"That's cool, living in Scotland. Do you like being back in Paris?"

He looked at her with a smile, "I think I'm going to like it a lot. Rose and Jules were talking about making you the manager of Kitty Section."

Marinette beamed, "really? That would be a huge honour! But I'm not too sure I'd be any good at it and I wouldn't want to mess anything up."

"You'd be a great manager," Luka assured her. "Think it over and give Jules a call about it later, yeah?"

She nodded, "yeah. Here we are, 's. We'll be in the cafeteria during lunch, do you know where that is?"

Cracking a chuckle, "I'll just go with the flow of students during lunch. Thanks for showing me to class, Marinette."

"Bye, Luka." She waved and went straight to class as the bell rang.

Alya nudged her with a grin, "so, what do you think about him?"

"Luka? He's nice."

Adrien turned back in his chair, "did either of you read the chapters?"

Marinette fumbled and panicked, "I...Um..Oh, no! I completely forgot!"

Her best friend laughed and patted her back as she slouched over her desk, "don't worry, I can give you two a brief summary of what happened."

"You're the best, Alya!" Adrien sighed in relief. Alya gave them a rundown of what happened just in time before came in to give them a quiz on what they read. Marinette had intended to read but got too tired from the Akuma to remember to do her homework.

Classes passed by in a blur until lunch arrived, sitting around eating and talking, Marinette sketched out some clothes, humming Jagged Stone as she did so. Luka glanced over her shoulder, "what are you sketching?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing really, just a jacket."

She handed him her book and he flipped through the pages, "these are really cool. You've got a great talent, Marinette."

It made her feel a little awkward to be praised by another guy only a couple of feet from Adrien and when she glanced at him, he wasn't paying attention to her which was normal but stung none the less.

"Marinette's designed for Jagged Stone before," Juleka put in and Marinette's eyes shot to her friend like, _why would you bring that up?_

Luka's eyebrows shot up, "really? No way! That's amazing, Marinette!"

Alya put in, "the album art for his last album and his shades."

His blue eyes were gleaming, "that's insane! That was my favourite album!" Marinette animatedly agreed and they were in a vivid discussion of Jagged Stone and his music, ignoring their other friends as they debated Jagged's best album.

The bell rang and Marinette's mood fell but Luka grinned, "to be continued."

"Agreed."

Juleka and Alya walked with her, "you two get along nicely."

"It's been a while since I was able to fangirl over Jagged Stone's music with someone," Marinette laughed. "How come you never told us you had a brother, Juleka?"

She shrugged, "it never really came up."

Sliding into their seats in class, they began pulling out their books. "Hey, Nino, what do you think about Luka?"

"Dude's cool. His jams are pretty sweet," Nino said as he walked in with Adrien.

"Yeah, he seems like a good guy," Adrien said, sitting in his seat but turning to talk to the girls. "Right, Marinette?"

Why was he talking to her? Marinette stammered, "Uh...ruh-right!"

came in and everyone settled down to prevent getting detention from the strict math teacher. Marinette doodled on the margin of her paper, her colourful notes boring her. She looked at Adrien's back and sighed quietly, he looked so handsome when he was focused.

"You're going to stare a hole into his head," Alya snickered and Marinette blushed and looked away from him quickly.

Juleka slid a not over, '_did Luka ask you about being Kitty Section's manager?'_

Scribbling back, '_yeah. He told me to think it over. I'll let you know my decision later, k?'_

Looking over at her, Jules nodded with a smile and thumbs up. Marinette wanted to be the manager but her own insecurity was holding her back and then what if the band needed her and she was off being Ladybug? Wouldn't she just be a letdown?

School ended and Marinette left for home to help her parents at the bakery, Luka passed by on his bike with his guitar in the basket and his carrier on the back as he delivered pizzas. He saw her through the window and stopped, waving at her with a smile, mouthing, '_see you tomorrow'._

"Who was that?" Her mother asked.

"That was Juleka's brother, Luka. He moved back to Paris, he goes to my school." Marinette said as she packed cupcakes in a box.

Her mother smiled, "seems like he's working hard."

Marinette nodded. Her father came from the kitchen, "Mari, can you get the dough ready for tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, Dad."

When everything was done, Marinette pulled out her phone and texted Juleka, _I'd love to be the manager._ And Marinette hoped that she would be a good manager.


	3. Frozer

Being Kitty Section's manager was easier than Marinette had expected and she was glad she accepted the position. She had been working herself up so much that she thought she wouldn't have been able to do it but she took a chance and it was fun.

She spent days on the _Liberty_, sketching outfits while listening to the band rehearse, getting them drinks, bringing baked goods. During this time she had to deal with several akumatised people with Chat Noir but it didn't get in the way of her position as manager.

Marinette spent less of her time obsessing over Adrien and was having fun being a girl. She could dress up cute without wondering what he thought about her, talk to guys without hoping he'd be jealous. It was freeing.

But since everything was going good, of course, it had to mess up. She walked into school and immediately slammed into someone, dropping her bag. Looking up only to see it was Adrien, "Marinette! Perfect timing."

_Huh?_ "Really? You think so?"

"Actually what I meant was, I need some advice right now. Can we talk?"

Turns out what he needed advice on was Kagami. And like an idiot, Marinette agreed to be the third wheel on his date with her. School that day was absolute misery and she went to the _Liberty_ with her friends afterwards to tell them about it.

Everyone single one of them seemed to pity her and tried to find a way to get her out of it but Marinette's hopelessness had reached a maximum for the day. They all tried to assure her that she and Adrien would be a thing but at this point in time, would there ever really be anything between them? She had been torturing herself for years over him and it was emotionally exhausting her.

While her friends argued, Marinette went above deck to look at the water, listening to Luka play a tune from a lounger. "Do you feel...kinda like this?" He asked as he played a sad tune, whenever he played her emotions it always seemed to be sad and normally had to do with Adrien.

She nodded and he said, "personally, I think a girl like you deserves to feel more like...this." The music became more upbeat and lively as he moved to sit next to her. "And whoever made you feel this way, he's nothing but a..." The music changed again to a weird tune.

Unable to help it, Marinette laughed, "thanks, Luka." Swaying to the music, Marinette stopped and impulsively asked, "say...are you free tomorrow?"

And thus the situation got a little better for her.

At the rink the next day, Adrien was unbearably sweet towards her but only because he wanted to woo Kagami and it was like salt in her wounds. It was Kagami of all people, a total ice queen. She really wanted him to let her fall face-first on the ice but she quickly corrected herself, "you cannot let her fall in any way."

Marinette stood up and the familiar feeling of stumbling to a fall was stopped as Luka caught her and put her back on her feet, his hands lingering at her waist. He knelt in front of her to fix her laces and offered her a hand which she accepted hesitantly and let him lead her onto the ice.

Luka was amazing at ice-skating, she was having a good time until she saw Kagami and Adrien, and eventually ended up falling. Why had she agreed to come with him again? Tired of everything, Marinette used her fall as an excuse to hide in the women's room.

"Why are you so sad?" Tikki asked.

Sighing heavily, "I like Luka. He's really nice. But do you think he's just like Adrien? Just a friend?" She didn't want to move on from Adrien just to go through the same thing with Luka.

Before she knew it, ice covered the bathroom and she pulled out Tikki's power-ups. She transformed into Ladybug and skated off to find Chat. Naturally, he was pissy from her earlier rejection even though it wasn't anything new.

Phillipe had been akumatised which thankfully saved her from having to leave the bathroom as Marinette. Was Luka safe? What about Adrien and Kagami? She wanted to wrap this up quickly and go home to sulk in her own sadness with some sweets and music.

It was all over and Ladybug purified the Akuma, the day was done and she watched Kagami kiss Adrien's cheek easily and she was envious that Kagami was able to do that. Luka said to her, "you should go over and talk to him. Thanks for inviting me out today."

The disappointment in his voice was very familiar to Marinette and she felt a bit guilty, "thanks for coming with me, Luka." She perched on her toes and pecked his cheek, catching a bit of his scent, saltwater, fabric softener, and soap.

Marinette chased after Adrien's car, barely stopping him. She wanted to confess to him, even if it was to just get it off her chest but she wished he would accept her. In the end, she could only say that they should get the group together and go ice skating again.

The feeling of failure loomed over her as she went home that night, inspecting her bruises after she showered before getting ready for bed and collapsing with a sore body and heart. Today sucked.


	4. Silencer

Her job as Kitty Section's manager became more serious when they decided to submit a video to XY's competition. She spent a lot more of her free time on the _Liberty _and a lot more time around Luka. She'd catch him gazing at her when she'd look at him and it made her cheek warm with a blush, she wasn't used to someone looking at her so often.

He had changed his hair from black and teal to indigo and light blue tips and it looked good. He was such a nice guy and Marinette got along well with him, they had a lot in common and she felt comfortable around him.

Designing the costumes and taking pictures and recording the band gave Marinette a huge sense of accomplishment. Seeing how hard everyone was working, finally finished, she submitted their song to XY and all that was left was waiting.

Their song, their look had been stolen by XY, Marinette was infuriated. She knew just how much effort Kitty Section had put into this piece and wasn't going to stand for it. The band went into the city to confront XY.

After being denied access, Juleka, Ivan, and Rose created a scene so Luka and Marinette could sneak past security and head up to Bob Roth and XY. Naturally, Bob Roth and XY denied everything. Luka tried to lead her out but she brushed his arm off.

"No! It's not fair! I won't stand by and let my friends' work get stolen!" She approached Roth, "if you won't tell the truth, then I will! Right now, on the air, live!"

He snatched her arm, gripping it in his big hand, "if you do that, I'll tell them you're the copycats, not me! I've got all the music biz eating out of my hand. So who do you think they'll believe? Me or a group of nobodies?" He continued to threaten her aggressively until a black-clad hand turned XY's face towards him and instead of Luka standing there, there was a villain in black, green, and purple with blue skin.

He pressed two fingers to XY's mouth and shushed him, the talentless musician's voice came out like a little jellyfish and the villain sucked it up into his mask. Everyone ran as the villainised Luka approached her, his hand raised like a duck's bill, speaking in XY's voice. "Don't worry, Marinette. I'd never hurt you. I will use the power Hawkmoth has given me to restore justice. I will force Bob Roth to admit what he did to you and Kitty Section."

Luka turned to leave and she went to stop him, "don't do that, Luka! That's revenge, not justice! And if you team up with Hawkmoth you'll have to face Chat Noir and Ladybug!"

He stopped and turned back to her, "Chat Noir and Ladybug? Where were they when we needed them? As of now, Silencer is laying down the Law of Silence." He walked closer to her, "you're the most extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note, and as sincere as a melody. You are the music that's been playing inside my head since the day we met. I won't let anything happen to you."

With that, he ran off and left Marinette feeling flustered with burning cheeks that were probably glowing like lava. She ran to a bathroom and Tikki flew out, "did that sound like a declaration of love?"

"I think so. Which is kinda weird, coming from a villain!"

"Perhaps Luka feels the same way," Tikki said.

Excitement and hope pushed its way to the surface and Marinette smiled, "do you think?" Quickly correcting herself, "stay focused, Marinette! Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug left her problems behind to do her job, hunting down the Silencer, she wanted Luka back. Battling him on the roof ended with her losing her voice, texting Chat to hurry up and get to there to help.

Chat had all sorts of fun picking about her not having her voice and it just made her want to punch him. With a plan hatched to use her Lucky Charm, Ladybug ran inside with Chat and dragged Bob Roth to a dressing room with her while she got their plan ready.

He wouldn't shut up. Could a person really be this pompous? Bob Roth was a complete asshole and she couldn't resist her urge to tape him to a chair as she ran off to reunite with Chat. Chat destroyed Silencer's mask and Ladybug purified the Akuma before standing in front of a confused Luka.

Bursting into the room was Bob Roth, ranting and raving...all on live television. He was forced to give Kitten Section credit to save his image, with her job done. Chat and Ladybug left so she could transform back and get ready for the show.

Marinette was in the bathroom while Tikki napped in her purse, she looked in the mirror as she talked herself into asking Luka if he meant what he had said as Silencer. What would she do if Luka really felt that way about her? _Why _would he like her? She _really _needed to call Alya tonight.

Kitty Section got ready for their first show and Marinette stood aside to watch them proudly before they went on, she caught Luka's wrist. "Luka, did you really mean all those things you said when you were akumatised?"

He didn't remember yet in the dim room, lit by flashing, colourful lights. Luka repeated word for word what he had said to her when he was the Silencer and her cheeks heated up as she stared up at him. Luka left to perform and Marinette's blush caught up to her, she asked, "that was a declaration of love, right, Tikki?"

Marinette was unable to keep the smile from her lips, looking down at Tikki in her purse, "one of the most beautiful ones I've ever heard!"

The performance started and Marinette was no longer able to ignore the fond gaze Luka had always directed at her and she didn't want to ignore it. She didn't want to dismiss him as just a friend. She wanted to move on from her infatuation with Adrien.

**Welp...from this chapter on I don't intend to follow the show's timeline or storyline. If you can't tell from this fanfic, I'm a hardcore Lukanette shipper but I wanted to keep true to the characters and not turn Adrien into a prick or Luka into some overly flirty, bad boy.**

**One thing that will happen with Luka is he's gonna be very touchy. This is not unfounded, he is very physically affectionate with Marinette i.e. the holding of her waist in Frozer, hand on shoulder in Desperada, moving closer to her in multiple episodes.**

**I'm not sure how I'll factor in Kagami and Adrien's relationship yet because Kagami is a no-nonsense kind of girl and probably wouldn't stick around Adrien's indecisiveness. So I'll cross that bridge when I get there.**


	5. Crush

It was colder than usual for September in Paris, if it kept getting colder there would probably be snow for Christmas. To keep the chilly wind at bay, Marinette wore dark blue jeans and a fitted long-sleeve shirt with a pink hoodie with bunny ears on the hood. To keep her neck warm, Marinette let her hair down and it rested over her shoulders.

Her hands were safely wrapped around a warm travel mug of hot cocoa as she made her way to school. She approached her friends, "good morning, everyone!"

Alya was wrapped up in her own coat and Nino's arms, "m-morning, Mari." Suddenly, she looked behind Marinette and jerked her head a bit. Marinette quickly turned and saw Juleka walking with Luka.

Luka's blue hair was covered with a crocheted beanie, his gloved hands held a coffee cup from a cafe and his guitar case was slung over his shoulder. He saw her looking and his face, red from the cold, lit up with a smile, "hey, Marinette."

He dipped down and their cheeks touched as they greeted each other making a light kissing sound before switching cheeks. He greeted everyone else with a polite nod and, "good morning."

Faire la bise was expected between friends in France, but Luka was practically a foreigner and Marinette liked that she was the only one he greeted with la bise. The cold hid her blush, she blew on her hot cocoa, the steam making her icy nose tingle with warmth.

He looked at her with a faint smile, touching one of the bunny ears on her hood, "cute."

Adrien joined the group in a brown, leather jacket and the scarf Marinette had made for him. She smiled and greeted him, with everyone in the courtyard, Marinette asked, "what are your guys' plans for break?"

"I have some family coming over," Alya said and Nino agreed. "What about you, Marinette?"

"My parents are going south to visit my grandpa, I'll be home alone," Marinette sipped her drink.

Alya laughed, "I know where I'll be visiting when it gets too chaotic at my house."

Alix joined them, "whose house are we seeking refuge in?"

"Marinette's."

Luka looked like he was trying to turtle into the warmth of his jacket, Marinette couldn't help the giggle, before her mind processed what she was doing, she reached a warm hand out and pressed it to Luka's cold cheek. He looked surprised but leant into the touch, "your hand's so warm."

He took her mug from her and guided her other hand up to his other cheek so she was cupping his face, his eyes closed and a white puff of breath escaped his lips. Marinette's face burned and she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or embarrassment.

Juleka smiled, she exchanged looks with the other girls, "Luka's weak to the cold."

"Forgive me for enjoying blood flow," he snorted. Marinette enjoyed the feeling of his face moving under her palms. "Have you ever tried to play guitar with numb fingers?"

His sister laughed, pulling Rose under her arm, "you have a point."

The bell rang and Luka sighed, "time to get to class. I'll see you at practice, right, Marinette?" She nodded and took her hot chocolate back. Luka's eyes were fixed on her, the corners of his lips upturned, "cool. I have something I want to play for you."

Alya looped her arm through Marinette's, "let's go, don't wanna be late."

Before Alya hauled her off, Marinette managed to wave at Luka, "I'll see you later."

On their way to class, Alya smirked and wiggled her eyebrows, "moving on nicely, I see. Luka's totally into you, girl!"

Marinette giggled, "that's not for sure, but he's cute, huh?"

"More than cute," Alya agreed. Taking their seats, they pulled out their homework. "And it's a positive that he likes you. 'You're the most extraordinary girl, Marinette.'" She imitated Luka's low voice and the two collapsed in giggles.

walked in and everyone took their seats, Marinette whispered, "it feels nice to like someone and actually have a chance."

"Silence, please!" called and the class settled down as she wrote page numbers on the board.

**...**

After school, Marinette walked to the _Liberty_ with Rose, Juleka, and Luka. Rose and Juleka walked ahead of them, hand in hand and talking about something. "How was your day?" Marinette asked, her hands safely tucked inside the warmth of her hoodie's front pocket.

"School is kinda just school, I guess. I never really been a fan of anything besides music and French. What about you?"

Marinette thought for a moment, "I really like my design class, other than that, I'm just an average student." Luka held her hand to help her board the ship and both were a little reluctant to let go as they went below deck where it was warm.

Juleka and Rose disappeared to her room, Luka picked up his guitar and sat on the couch, patting the cushion next to him, Marinette was cautious of where she stepped on the swaying, messy floor as she made her way to sit next to him.

Luka took off his gloves, his black nail polish slightly chipped on a couple of nails. He fished a pick from his pocket and shifted his fingers on the strings, Marinette loved watching his face as he played. A smile came to his lips, his eyes closed and a little crease appeared between his eyebrows. The tune was sweet and light and happy. Marinette closed her eyes and swayed to it, a smile of her own coming to her lips.

"It's not finished yet," Luka said as his music concluded.

"It's beautiful so far."

"As beautiful as its muse." She looked at him puzzled, he smirked, "you. I wrote this thinking of you."

Marinette's heart stuttered in her chest and she felt a blush creeping up her neck to colour her cheeks. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, it a was a much better feeling than crushing disappointment. "M-me?"

Luka nodded, "this part here..." he played a part of the melody, "was inspired by your smile, then this...is your eyes." Marinette felt incredibly embarrassed, that was how he heard her? How could he create something that lovely from her?

She was spared from saying anything as Ivan came below deck with Mylène, she giggled, "are we interrupting anything?"

Luka put his guitar aside, clearing his throat, "ahem. Not at all, let me go get Rose and Jules so we can start practice."

Once he left, Marinette pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her erratic heartbeat. Her other hand fanned her face, Ivan glance between Luka and her, pursing his lips to hide a smile. Having a crush was a hell of a lot more exciting than unrequited love.


End file.
